


Flying on Broken Wings

by SakuraBreeze



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gangsters, Alternate Universe - Tattoo Parlor, Angst, Fluff and Humor, Happy Ending, M/M, Minor Violence, Mistaken Identity, probably knowing me, side iwaoi and kenhina, side pairings, they're more like delinquents than actual gangsters though
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-18
Updated: 2016-12-26
Packaged: 2018-07-24 20:28:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7522063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SakuraBreeze/pseuds/SakuraBreeze
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kuroo lifted his gaze to the new guy, anger boiling in his stomach. The lower half of his face was covered by a bandanna, much like Kuroo’s own, and he had a beanie covering his hair. He was watching Kuroo through keen, golden eyes, and Kuroo couldn’t help but think that they looked like an owl’s. They were beautiful.<br/><br/>Okay, whoa, most definitely <i>not</i> the time.<br/><br/><br/>The Cats and the Crows have been rivals for longer than Kuroo can remember. When Kuroo gets an attractive new client, and the Crows get a new member with beautiful eyes, he doesn’t realize that they’re the same person. Cue a vengeful ex that forces the Cats and the Crows to work together, and things get a little messy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Cats & Crows

**Author's Note:**

> So, here's my new fic! I hope you guys enjoy it!
> 
> Please note that the rating is subject to change. Tags will be updated as I go.
> 
> I've been dying to write a tattoo shop AU for these two, and then I saw a picture of delinquent-ish Kuroo and I just had to mix them together into this AU. It's super interesting to write, so far!

Kuroo adjusted the bandana higher up his nose as he walked. It was a warm night, so it was a bit stuffy, but he didn’t like his face to be seen when he was patrolling their territory with the other Cats. He didn’t want anyone he might… Have an altercation with while he was out to come make trouble at his shop. The only one outside of the Cats who knew what he looked like was Daichi, the leader of the Crows – their rival gang. Despite being his sworn rival, Daichi was a decent guy. Kuroo trusted that he wouldn’t abuse his knowledge. So far, that hadn’t blown up in his face, so Kuroo guessed that it was a good enough reason to keep trusting him.

He let out a long sigh and clasped his hands behind his head, knuckle dusters pressing into his skin slightly. He had a feeling that this was going to be a long night.

“What, bored of me already, Tetsu-chan?” Oikawa mock-gasped from next to him. He had his hood up and a mask covering his face. It was one of those high-end fashionable ones, and had a red skull printed on the centre. He had at least eight different ones, as far as Kuroo could tell, and he had no idea where he even got them. “I’m offended. You should be _grateful_ that I decided to come with you tonight.”

Kuroo rolled his eyes, but laughed anyway. “You only came with me because it’s Iwaizumi’s turn to go with Kyoutani,” he said. “And I told you not to call me that when we’re out here.”

Oikawa stuck his lower lip out, and gave a melodramatic sigh. “It’s not my fault that Mad Dog-chan needs someone to keep him in check, and that Iwa-chan’s gigantic arms make him the best man for the job. And why not? It’s not like anyone would guess that the oh-so cool tattoo shop owner is _tetsu-chan_ ,” he said.

Kuroo scoffed. “They will when you call me that in front of the customers all the time! You’re possibly the least subtle person I’ve ever met.”

“That’s so rude, tetsu-chan! I thought you loved me,” Oikawa whined.

“You’re a menace. I’m starting to think Iwaizumi was right,” Kuroo deadpanned. “You can’t call me tetsu-chan at the store _and_ when we’re out on business. You have to choose one.”

Oikawa huffed, crossing his arms over his chest, bat loose in one hand. “I choose both! None of you appreciate me, I swear. I am a _delight_. Only that kid from the Crows treats me with the right amount of awe. Maybe I should go join them. Then what would you do without me, hm?”

Kuroo nudged him with an elbow. “You’re not joining the Crows. Iwaizumi would have your head. Besides, that kid is impressed by just about _everything_. He nearly started shaving his own hair mid-fight because he thought Terushima’s undercut was so cool,” he pointed out.

Oikawa burst out laughing, high and melodic. “Terushima was so excited about it, too. He nearly cried when Daichi stopped the kid.”

Kuroo’s phone buzzed in his pocket. He paused mid-step and fished it out, opening a text from Kenma.

**Kenma:** You need to come to the wharf now. Lev and Terushima are getting into trouble.

He sighed again, and shoved his phone back into his pocket. “Come on, we gotta save Lev and Terushima’s asses again,” he said, turning and jogging in the direction of the wharf.

Oikawa followed, though it wasn’t silently. It wasn’t a long run to the wharf – they hadn’t been that far from it in the first place. But the entire way Oikawa complained about how he _couldn’t get in another fight_ and how _he’d just gotten his hair done_ and how _his face was too beautiful to mess up_ again. Kuroo had just rolled his eyes and told him to shut up and text Iwaizumi. It took them about five minutes to get to the wharf, and when they got there, Kuroo quickly figured out why Kenma had texted him.

There were four guys from the Crows there – the kid with the orange hair, whom he’d dubbed Shrimpy, the tall guy with the bowl cut and the intimidating glare, and two guys that Kuroo didn’t recognize. The odds might have been a bit fairer if Kenma was more of a fighter – or a fighter at _all_ , really – but he was mostly just there to help keep Terushima and Lev out of trouble. He was the brains of their group, rather than the brawn. Terushima and Lev were getting pretty close to two of the Crows – Shrimpy and the grumpy one – while the other two hung back and watched with crossed arms.

Kuroo made his way up to them, all square shoulders and confidence. He placed a hand on Lev’s shoulder, putting himself between the Cats and the Crows. He looked the two Crows up and down, glaring at them.

“What are you doing here?” He demanded. “You know that this is our turf.”

“We have business here,” the grumpy one replied simply. “You got a problem with that?”

“Why _yes_ , I have a problem with that,” Kuroo shot back. “You can’t just come here, to _our_ turf, and harass my members without _my_ permission.”

“We don’t need your permission to go anywhere!” Shrimpy cried out, puffing himself up to make himself look bigger. It didn’t work very well.

“When it’s on my turf, you do,” Kuroo gritted out. These arguments always went nowhere.

“Who says it’s your turf anyway?” One of the guys Kuroo didn’t recognize called out, walking up to them. “Isn’t this practically surrounded by _our_ territory anyway? Who says this isn’t ours, too?”

Kuroo lifted his gaze to the new guy, anger boiling in his stomach. The lower half of his face was covered by a bandanna, much like Kuroo’s own, and he had a beanie covering his hair. He was watching Kuroo through keen, golden eyes, and Kuroo couldn’t help but think that they looked like an owl’s. They were beautiful.

Okay, whoa, most definitely _not_ the time.

“ _I_ do,” Kuroo snapped. “This is our turf. Now get the fuck out of here before you make me _really_ angry.”

The owl-guy pushed inbetween Shrimpy and the grumpy dude, sidling up into Kuroo’s personal space. “Or what?” He said, and damn if this guy wasn’t pissing him off so much he would jump his bones.

But, as it stood, these guys were their rivals and they were making themselves more than unwelcome in his territory. So, he drew back his arm and swung at the guy’s face. The guy’s eyes widened in surprise, but he managed to dodge, just barely. Kuroo’s knuckle duster grazed his face, leaving a red mark across his cheekbone.

If the guy’s face had been uncovered, Kuroo thought that he would have been smiling just then. He could see the twinkle in his eyes.

Vaguely, Kuroo could have sworn that he heard Kenma scoff, “so much for getting them out of trouble.”

Kuroo ignored him. The guy jumped backwards and dropped into a fighting stance, and then swung back at Kuroo. Kuroo danced out of the way, and aimed another punch at the guy’s stomach. It landed, causing him to double over and cough violently. But, it left him open to the uppercut the guy threw at his jaw.

Kuroo hissed at the pain but didn’t let himself falter.

It wasn’t long after that the others broke out into fighting as well. Oikawa went up against the grumpy dude, Terushima against Shrimpy, and Lev against the other one that Kuroo didn’t recognize. They were all pretty evenly matched. At this rate, they’d all end up bruised and bloodied by the time any of them were actually willing to retreat.

Kuroo took another punch to the gut, and stumbled backwards. Damn, this guy could punch hard. Kuroo shook out his arms and huffed out a breath, trying to take his mind off the pain. He was just about to rush at the guy again, when he heard Iwaizumi’s voice.

“Holy shit, are you guys _incapable_ of staying out of trouble?” He yelled. “Tell me why the fuck this guy is the leader again.” Kuroo didn’t have to look to know he was gesturing at him. He didn’t think he’d ever be so grateful to hear Iwaizumi yelling at them. Then again, he probably thought that every other week, actually.

“Iwa-chan! Mad dog-chan!” Oikawa called. “You certainly took your time. My pretty face could have been ruined by now!”

“What a travesty,” Iwaizumi deadpanned. Kuroo snickered.

“Now, who wants to tell me what you’ve gotten yourselves into this time?” Iwaizumi said.

“These guys were in _our_ turf!” Lev cried out. “We were just trying to make them go away.”

“Yeah!” Terushima agreed.

Kuroo straightened, looking at the guy he’d been fighting, and then glancing over at the others. Shrimpy and the grumpy guy looked understandably nervous. Kyoutani’s reputation as the Mad Dog (despite being a member of the Cats) preceded him. No one wanted to fight him. The other two, however, looked oblivious.

“You sure you want to continue this fight?” Kuroo said, putting his hands on his hips. “You’re outnumbered. Plus, we have Kyoutani here. You won’t like him when he’s angry.” A smirk pulled at his lips, and he had to stifle a laugh at his own joke.

“Huh? What’s so special about him?” The guy said, glaring at Kyoutani.

“That’s the Mad Dog!” Shrimpy whispered harshly. “We should get out of here. If we don’t, Daichi will get mad at us.”

The grumpy dude smacked Shrimpy upside the head. “Dumbass, don’t say his name in front of them!” He scolded. Kuroo let out a bark of laughter.

“My point still stands! We gotta go!” Shrimpy hissed back. The grumpy one glared at him for a moment, but then nodded. They both retreated, pulling the other two along with them.

“This isn’t over, cat boy!” The one with the owl eyes called back, staring directly at Kuroo. Kuroo suppressed a shiver.

“You’re damned right it isn’t!” He called back.

 

* * *

 

Two days later, the bruise on Kuroo’s jaw had faded into an ugly yellow colour. He kept it covered up with makeup anyway. It wouldn’t be good for business to look like he just got jumped in a back alley, even if it was a tattoo shop.

He was just busy setting up, double checking his appointments for the day and counting the float for the till, when Iwaizumi, Oikawa, and Terushima let themselves in. Kenma was already there, being one of the other artists for Kuroo’s shop. It was a small shop, so there were just three of them that ran it – Kuroo and Kenma as artists, and Terushima as a piercer. Though, Terushima even being there before the shop opened was something of a miracle. On busier days, Oikawa sometimes helped out as a cashier slash receptionist. He was always great for business. All the girls on the street flocked in, suddenly wanting tattoos of their own.

“You know,” Iwaizumi said. “I thought that as leader you were supposed to get these idiots _out_ of trouble, not get into it yourself.”

Kuroo looked up from where he was counting the money. “Hey, man, you weren’t there,” he replied lazily, shrugging.

“Yeah,” Terushima huffed. “One of those new guys was seriously rude. Trying to act like it was _their_ territory and not ours. Can you believe it?” Kuroo was suddenly reminded of those golden eyes.

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes. “I can, considering they do it all the time. These stupid fights are becoming more and more frequent, it’s ridiculous.”

“Hey,” Kuroo said. “It’s not my fault they’ve got an attitude problem. Daichi’s really gotta get those kids under control.”

“Yeah! The one nearly hit my face with a crowbar! What would you all do then, hm, Iwa-chan? My beautiful face would be messed up and this entire gang would descend into chaos,” Oikawa complained.

“I’m sure we’d manage without you, Oikawa,” Iwaizumi said, shooting him a look and crossing his arms.

“Mean, Iwa-chan! Totally mean!”

Iwaizumi ignored him in favour of looking at Kuroo again. “So what are we going to do?”

Kuroo sighed. “I don’t know. I’ll call a meeting tomorrow,” he said. “We can talk about our best next move then. I have to open up now.”

Kuroo put the money into the till, and then moved past the others to open the door, flipping the sign from _closed_ to _open_.

Iwaizumi shrugged. “Alright, well, I just came to drop this one off,” he said, jerking his thumb at Oikawa. “I’ll be in on Friday for my next session on my thigh piece. See you tomorrow.”

“Try not to miss me too much, Iwa-chan,” Oikawa teased. Iwaizumi just rolled his eyes and cuffed him on the back of his head.

“Sure, see you then,” Kuroo said. “I’ll text you the details of the meeting.”

Iwaizumi gave a curt nod before heading out the door.

It was a slow morning, mostly spent goofing around behind the counter. Neither Kuroo nor Kenma had any appointments till later that day, and they didn’t take bookings for piercings. Still, there was the odd chance of a walk-in for a small tattoo. They got a couple of phonecalls asking if Terushima was there, inquiring about their hours, and the like. That was just about it till around lunch, when Kuroo’s first appointment was due.

One Bokuto Koutarou, in for a consultation and design session. He’d phoned in about a week before.

Kuroo was busy lazing, half-sprawled, across the counter when he walked in. Kuroo glanced up, the sounds of Terushima and Oikawa bickering vaguely in the background, to see eyes that he recognized looking down at him. He jerked upright, surprised by the familiarity, but couldn’t quite place them. The man was tall and broad, with black and white hair spiked into two points, and an excited grin. He had an intricate sleeve on his left arm, and Kuroo could see more tattoos poking out from underneath his collar and right sleeve.

“Bokuto, I take it?” Kuroo asked, letting a lazy smile fall on his lips. “I’m Kuroo Tetsurou. What can I do for you today?”

Bokuto nodded. “That’s me. I want an owl tattoo on my back. I don’t have time to start inking today, but I thought we could design? I have some concepts on my phone,” he said, moving over to the counter. “I had a look at some of your stuff online, it’s really great.”

“Thanks, man,” Kuroo said, grabbing his sketch book and pencil from underneath the till and placing it on top of the counter. “You can grab one of the chairs from over there and bring it here.” Kuroo gestured to the waiting area. “What sort of concepts do you have?”

Bokuto grabbed a chair and pulled it over to the counter, sitting down. He fished his phone out of his pocket and brought up an image of an owl tattoo on someone’s back, before sliding it over to Kuroo.

“I want something kind of like this,” he said. “But I want the wings to be bigger, like, the main focus, and I want it to be in colour.”

Kuroo made an impressed noise. “That’s a really cool idea. Cool, let me sketch out something basic quick.” Kuroo picked up his pencil and began to draw, his pencil flitting quickly across the paper. “Why an owl, if I might ask?”

Bokuto shrugged, grin broadening just marginally. Kuroo found that he liked the way Bokuto’s grin lit up his whole face. “I’ve just always felt an affinity for them, I guess.”

Kuroo returned his smile as he sketched. “I’ve always been more of a cat man, myself.”

Bokuto’s smile faltered for a second, and he gave Kuroo an odd look. Kuroo was just beginning to worry he’d said something wrong, when Bokuto spoke again. “You kind of remind me of a cat,” he said, laughing to himself. “Especially your smile. It’s nice.”

Kuroo paused in his drawing for a moment, feeling a hint of warmth in his cheeks. Had he just… called Kuroo’s smile nice?

They chatted for a while longer while Kuroo drew, talking about random things. Kuroo found out that, while Bokuto was quite an active guy, he had a guilty love for binging the same shitty reality shows that Kuroo did. When Kuroo was done, he flipped the sketchbook to face Bokuto and slid it over to him.

“What do you think?” He asked.

“Oh, man, I love it!” Bokuto exclaimed. “How’d you get it so perfect the first time? The last artist I went to had to re-sketch my design like, six times.”

Kuroo gave Bokuto a bashful grin, rubbing the back of his neck and shrugging. “Glad you like it, dude.”

Bokuto held up the sketchbook for closer inspection, grinning almost from ear to ear. “I want this on me, like, _now_.”

Kuroo laughed. “Well, we can schedule your first session, if you’d like?” He suggested. “When works for you?”

“Do you have any free slots tomorrow?” Bokuto asked. “Please tell me you do.”

Kuroo turned to his computer, glancing over his appointment schedule. “I have a free slot just before closing, if that’s good for you.”

“That’s perfect! Thank you so much! Can I take a photo of this? Oh, man, Akaashi is gonna love this,” he said. “Either that or he’s gonna kill me for getting another tattoo so soon.”

“Hey, well, try not to die before I’ve put that tattoo on you,” Kuroo joked, snickering. “I’m actually pretty excited to do it. And sure, go ahead.”

Bokuto picked up his phone and snapped a picture before pocketing it again. “Great, man, I’m super amped for this. I gotta bounce, but I’ll see you tomorrow!” Bokuto said, turning to head out the door.

“Yeah,” Kuroo said, waving. “See you tomorrow.”

When Bokuto was out of sight, Kuroo let out a long breath, letting himself relax back into his chair. Terushima and Oikawa poked their heads into the room. Kuroo hadn’t even noticed them leaving, to be honest. He wasn’t sure where Kenma had gone off to.

“Looks like someone’s taken with his new client,” Oikawa teased. “You’re actually _blushing_ , Tetsu-chan.”

“I am not,” Kuroo huffed. “He’s just… Energetic.”

“You are so blushing,” Terushima laughed.

Kuroo groaned. “Okay, fine, I’m blushing. He called my smile nice.”

“Ah, young love,” Oikawa sighed dramatically. “A beautiful thing.”

“Talk to me when you’re done making gooey eyes at Iwaizumi.”

“Didn’t he look kind of familiar though?” Terushima asked.

“Yeah, he kind of did,” Kuroo said.

It was like a scratch at the back of Kuroo’s mind, where he recognized Bokuto from, but he just couldn’t figure it out. Eventually, he gave up and went about the rest of his day, trying not to let how beautiful Bokuto’s eyes were distract him from his work.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kuroo finally starts tattooing Bokuto, and the Cats have another run-in with the Crows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I'm finally picking up this fic again! I don't think I'm capable of not writing fic anymore, haha.

Kuroo leaned against the wall outside his shop, cigarette resting between his fingers as he watched the sun disappear behind the skyline. He lifted his cigarette to his lips and took a drag, letting the smoke puff out into a cloud in front of him.

It was getting pretty late in the afternoon, but the store wouldn’t close for quite some time yet. They usually stayed open later than most of the shops on their street, even when they didn’t have evening bookings. It wasn’t always just for business, though. The Cats often insisted on using Kuroo’s shop as their personal living room in the evenings. Not that Kuroo minded. Much. Sometimes the idiots, like Lev and Oikawa, could get on his nerves, but he loved them. Hell, he even got swept up in their antics sometimes. He supposed that he understood Kenma’s long-suffering sighs, at least a little.

He was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of his shop’s bell ringing.

“Tetsu-chan,” Oikawa called in his typical lilt. “Smoking is so disgusting. You’ll never find yourself a nice girlfriend if you keep doing it. Or boyfriend.”

Kuroo huffed out a laugh. “You seem perfectly fine being with Iwaizumi. He smokes twice as much as me,” he said. “Then again, I guess you aren’t really _nice_.”

Oikawa smacked Kuroo on the arm, letting out an offended whine. “Rude, Tetsu-chan! You’re worse than Iwa-chan!” He complained.

“No I’m not.” Kuroo grinned. “You just put up with him more ‘cause the sex is good.”

“I don’t know why I put up with this,” Oikawa sighed melodramatically. “I’m going out for a bit. You and Yuu-chan can survive without me while Ken-chan is on break, can’t you?”

Kuroo took another drag from his cigarette. “Yes, we can survive. I _have_ been running this shop for three years, now. Where are you going?”

“I need to get my hair done,” he said, giving his fringe a flick. “It takes work to keep this up, you know.”

Kuroo snorted. “Gay.”

Oikawa rolled his eyes. “Says you! You literally fuck men. If anything, you’re gayer than me.”

“Hey, I’m into girls, too. I’m obviously _less_ gay.”

“Have you _seen_ your hair?” Oikawa pulled on a strand of Kuroo’s fringe. “It’s super gay.”

Kuroo scoffed, putting a hand to his chest. “I am _offended_. My hair is nowhere near as gay as yours.”

“Your hair is pretty gay, dude,” came a voice from behind Kuroo. He turned to see Bokuto walking towards them, a wide grin plastered on his face. “Then again, so is his. And so is that other guy’s – the blonde one.”

A small smile tugged at Kuroo’s lips. “And yours isn’t?”

“Is that any way to talk to a customer?” Bokuto laughed, putting his hands on his hips.

Kuroo shrugged. “You’ll learn quickly that everyone that works here are jackasses to the customers. Except Kenma. I tried to keep them in line, but I kind of gave up after a while. We make up with it in quality, though.”

Bokuto’s grin widened. “I can’t deny that. I’m super excited for this tatt, dude.”

Kuroo took one last drag of his cigarette before dropping it to the ground and stomping it out. “Let’s get started then, why don’t we?” He said, ignoring Oikawa’s scoff of _littering is bad manners, Kuroo_. “See you, Oikawa. Try not to lead on too many poor, innocent girls, will you?”

Oikawa waved to them, giving them an all-too innocent smile. “I make no promises, Tetsu-chan! My good looks are beyond my control,” he said, and then turned to leave. “Bye-bye!”

Bokuto snorted, raising his eyebrows at Kuroo. “Tetsu-chan?” He laughed.

Kuroo rolled his eyes. “Don’t even start,” he said, moving past Bokuto and opening the door to the shop for him. Once he was inside, Kuroo followed, shutting the door again behind them. “Just you wait. Hang around here long enough, and he’ll have a shitty nickname for you, too. I had to fight for the name Tetsu-chan. He used to insist on calling me Kitty-chan.”

Bokuto burst out into laughter, head thrown back and shoulders shaking. Kuroo smiled at the sound. “Oh my god, that’s amazing, dude,” he wheezed. “ _Kitty-chan_.”

Kuroo let out a chuckle of his own. “Whatever, dude. Just take your shirt off and go lie down,” he said, pointing to the adjacent room with the tattoo bed. “I’ll be back with the stencil and stuff. I’ve prepped it already.” Bokuto did as he was told, disappearing into the other room. When Kuroo looked back towards the reception desk, Terushima was sitting there, raising his eyebrows at Kuroo. “Shut up,” Kuroo huffed. “Hand me the stencil I left there.”

Terushima reached under the counter, pulling out the stencil page with Bokuto’s design on it and handing it to Kuroo. Kuroo grabbed it and nodded in thanks, turning and making his way into the room where Bokuto was waiting. “Have fun,” Terushima called after him in a sing-song voice. Kuroo ignored him.

When Kuroo entered the room, Bokuto was already lying on his stomach on the bed, shirtless. He tried his best not to drink in the expanse of Bokuto’s back, muscly and dotted with sparse freckles, he really did. But it was very hard _not_ to. After hesitating for a moment, he walked further into the room, seating himself on the chair next to the bed and desperately hoping that Bokuto hadn’t noticed him checking him out. Quietly, he took his supplies out of the drawer next to the bed and pulled his gloves on. Dabbing some antiseptic onto a swab, he wiped it across Bokuto’s skin. When he was done with that, he laid the page across his back, smoothing it out so that the stencil transferred onto him. Then, he put the page aside and put his machine together, putting in a new, sterile needle.

“You ready?” He asked when he was done with the prep, his forearm resting on Bokuto’s back.

Bokuto turned his head towards Kuroo, and grinned up at him. “Hell yeah! I was born ready,” he said.

Kuroo nodded, shooting Bokuto a smile, and then set to work. He could see Bokuto’s muscles tense, just a little, as the needle came in contact with his skin. It only really sunk in then what a solid wall Bokuto was, and Kuroo tried not to think about that too hard.

“So, what shitty nickname do you think Oikawa will give me?” Bokuto asked, sounding stupidly serious.

Kuroo made a noise that was somewhere between a snort and a chuckle, and Bokuto laughed. “I dunno,” he said. “Maybe Owl-chan if you’re unlucky, Kou-chan if you’re lucky.”

“Owl-chan,” Bokuto repeated, sounding amused and way too happy at the prospect. “Fuck yeah, that’s an _awesome_ nickname. I love owls.”

“No shit dude,” Kuroo said, raising an eyebrow at Bokuto. “I wouldn’t have guessed.”

Bokuto just laughed, wincing when Kuroo went over a sensitive spot. They carried on like that, idly chatting as Kuroo worked, quietening only when he needed to concentrate on a detail. Four hours went by like nothing, and the only reason that Kuroo realized that time had passed was that when he looked out the window, it was pitch black outside. Eventually, Terushima poked his head through the door.

“Yo, dudes. You might wanna wrap things up soon,” he said. “You know you’ll get an earful from Kenma if you keep going past closing.”

Kuroo glanced up at Terushima in surprise and then nodded, sighing. “You’re right,” he said, putting his machine to one side. “I miss the days when he was cute and quiet. I blame Iwaizumi for teaching us to mom us.”

Terushima laughed. “Ain’t that the truth,” he said, disappearing back into the reception area.

“Right, well, that’s it for this session,” Kuroo said, pulling out the cling wrap from the drawer. “But we got a good amount done. When d’you wanna do the next session?”

Bokuto looked a little disappointed, but sat up anyway. “Soon! As soon as this has healed,” he said, lifting up his arms so that Kuroo could wrap him up. Kuroo tried not to let how much he enjoyed the proximity to Bokuto’s muscles show. “Two weeks?”

Kuroo frowned. “Isn’t that a little soon? Shouldn’t you give it more time to heal?”

“It’s fine!” Bokuto insisted, waving a hand. “I can manage. I just want this _done_ already.”

Kuroo let out a soft chuckle. “Well, if you’re sure. You’re pretty impatient, aren’t you?” He remarked, finishing up Bokuto’s wrapping.

“So I’ve been told,” Bokuto said, shrugging his shirt back on. “Oh! Let me give you my number. I gotta bounce, but you can text me the time of my next session. I’m good for pretty much whenever.”

Kuroo nodded. “Sure,” he said, handing his phone to Bokuto. He was a little surprised, honestly. Both at Bokuto’s forwardness and his own willingness; he didn’t give out his number often. When Bokuto had finished tapping his number into Kuroo’s phone, he handed it back with a satisfied grin.

“Awesome. I’ll see you in two weeks!” He said, bouncing off the tattoo bed and dashing out of the room before Kuroo could say anything. He stared after him, blinking, for a moment. Bokuto was like a flurry of energy that Kuroo wasn’t sure that he’d ever get used to. He could hear chatter from the reception area as Bokuto paid, and Kuroo couldn’t help but smile as he began his clean up. Even if he might not be able to get used to it, he still liked it. He liked Bokuto.

When he was done, he threw his gloves away, and made his way out into the reception room. Bokuto had left long ago, but Terushima, Oikawa, and Kenma were there. All of them were looking at him.

“So,” Oikawa said, ignoring Kuroo’s soft ‘no’. “He gave you his _number_.”

Kuroo rolled his eyed, but it was a half-hearted gesture. “It’s not a big deal,” he said. “He just gave it to me for business purposes.”

“Still,” Terushima piped up. “You accepted it. Which means you’re going to text him. Which means you’re gonna give him your number. You _never_ give clients your personal number.”

“Oh my god, whatever,” Kuroo groaned, putting his face in his hands. “You try staring at that gorgeous back for four hours and see if _you_ aren’t weak afterwards.”

Oikawa laughed. “Someone’s got a crush,” he teased.

“Shut up, Oikawa,” he hissed, but there was no venom behind it. “Let’s just lock up for the night. I’ll be seeing all your ugly faces at my place tomorrow, anyway.”

Oikawa scoffed. “I am _not_ ugly! I don’t know about these two, but have you even seen me?”

Kuroo smiled to himself as Terushima retorted, flicking Oikawa’s cheek, and Kenma just sat there, sighing.  No matter what shit he gave them, he really loved these idiots.

 

* * *

 

The next night, Kuroo came home to an absolute mess. He wasn’t sure why he was surprised, really. Any time the Cats had a meeting at his place it was the same thing; they somehow always got there before him, and they somehow always made an even bigger mess of the place than they did the time before. He let out a heavy sigh as he shucked off his shoes by the entryway and took off his jacket.

“How the fuck did you guys get in this time?” He asked, dropping his jacket over the back of his couch, behind Oikawa.

“Tetsu-chan! You’re really not as good at hiding your spare key as you think you are,” Oikawa said, grinning. “It’s cute that you try so hard.”

“Don’t be an asshole, Oikawa,” Iwaizumi scolding, cuffing Oikawa over the ear. Oikawa whined and said something along the lines of ‘mean, Iwa-chan’, but Kuroo ignored him in favour of doing a headcount. Oikawa, Iwaizumi, Terushima, and Kyoutani were already there – Kuroo really needed to stop loitering outside the store to smoke before going home. They were just missing Kenma, Yamamoto, and Lev now. They all lived in the same apartment complex as Kuroo, so they would probably arrive together. Somehow, even though they lived right above and below him, they were always the latest.

“Whatever, how about you guys at least make an effort to keep tidy around here?” He complained, heading over to the kitchen to grab a beer from his fridge. When he opened it, there was only one left. “And stop drinking all my alcohol!”

“So, have you texted Mr Owl yet?” Oikawa called, completely ignoring his complaints. Kuroo let out another sigh as he walked back into the living room and pulled up a chair from his dining table, sitting himself in between the sofa and the armchair.

“Not yet,” he said, taking a sip of his beer. “Today was busy.”

Oikawa tutted. “That’s not good at all, Tetsu-chan. If you’re not careful, someone will _swoop_ in and steal those lovely muscles from right under your nose,” he warned.

Kuroo blinked, staring at Oikawa for a moment. “Was that… An owl pun?”

“Yes! And it was hilarious!”

“Absolutely _not_ hilarious, Shittykawa,” Iwaizumi groaned. Oikawa looked to Terushima and Kyoutani for help, but they just shook their heads sadly. Oikawa let out an indignant huff, and Kuroo laughed. About a minute later, there was finally a knock on the door. Before Kuroo could even get up, however, Lev burst into the room.

“Sorry we’re late!” Lev said as he entered the room, waving at all of them. “Kenma and I were playing games.”

“At least wait for him to open the door!” Yamamoto said, glaring up at Lev. Kenma trailed behind the two of them quietly, playing some or other game on his phone.

Kuroo snorted. “Like you’re one to talk, Yamamoto,” he said. “You’re just as bad as the rest of these assholes.” Yamamoto opened his mouth to argue, but Kuroo cut him off. “ _Anyway_ , if we’re all here, then we should probably get down to business. The Crows.”

Iwaizumi nodded, looking solemn. “They’re getting more aggressive than usual,” he said. “But why?”

“Could be that new member of theirs,” Kyoutani said. “He seemed like he was looking for a fight.”

Briefly, Kuroo remembered how his eyes had glinted in the moonlight, keen and bright. He tried to push the memory aside, but there was just something about them that captivated him. That, and a cocky attitude that could match Kuroo’s – and, well, maybe he should stop thinking about that.

“Could be,” Kuroo agreed, nodding. “We all know how Daichi’s baby crows can lack discipline. But whatever the reason is, they’re probably gonna try something soon. Things’ve been quiet recently, but we know they’ve been antsy – especially about the territory down by the wharf. They’re sure to make a move. Their new guy just proves that.”

“So what do we do?” Terushima asked. “It’ll just mean more trouble if we lose the wharf.”

“So make sure we don’t lose the wharf,” Kenma said from his spot on the floor, not looking up from his phone.

“Thanks for the advice, Kenma,” Kuroo deadpanned. “But, he is right. We need to be extra careful with our turf on that side. We’ll have more people there, and no one goes alone anymore. That new guy is good, and I don’t think Daichi has a reign on him just yet.” He paused for a moment, considering, and then added, “I’m going to keep Iwaizumi and Kyoutani paired up there permanently for now. We’ll rotate the others.”

As soon as he was done speaking, Oikawa stuck his bottom lip out. “No far! Mad Dog-chan can’t get Iwa-chan all to himself,” he complained.

“Iwaizumi handles Kyoutani the best when he’s wild,” Kenma said. Kyoutani grunted, evidently not happy to be talked about while he was right there. “Plus, the Crows are the most scared of him.” Oikawa opened his mouth to argue, but then snapped it shut again, obviously unable to deny Kenma’s logic.

“I don’t know whether I should be offended or not that they’re not scared of me,” Kuroo sighed, putting a hand to his chest dramatically.

“Kuroo, we all know that you’re not-so-secretly a giant goof,” Terushima said, giving him a serious look. “You’re a pushover, at heart. Even if you try to act tough.”

“You shouldn’t talk to your leader that way, Teru!” He said, but Terushima just snorted. “And maybe I am, maybe I’m not, but _they’re_ not supposed to know that!”

Terushima shrugged. “Like I said, it isn’t a huge secret.”

Kuroo rolled his eyes. “Anyway. We’ll start Iwaizumi and Kyoutani on the wharf tomorrow night. I have it on good authority that the Crows are having a meeting tonight, as well, so they won’t be a problem,” he said.

“You mean Refreshing-kun accidentally blabbed to you again when you went to pick up our coffee this morning,” Oikawa said.

“He’s such a nice guy, I almost feel bad using his accidental blabs against his boyfriend,” Kuroo said, shrugging. “But, we gotta do what we gotta do. I’ll be on the wharf tomorrow night as well, probably with Kenma. The rest of you stay on your normal spots. I’ll get the rest of the rotations out soon enough.”

Kenma sighed softly. “Why do I have to go to the wharf, too?” He grumbled. “I hate the sea.”

“Because you’re my best friend and I say so,” Kuroo said, shooting him a grin. Kenma just sighed again.

“Great! Now that that’s sorted, can we watch _Independence Daysaster_ now?” Oikawa said, jumping up to grab the aforementioned DVD from his bag. Everyone groaned.

“Oikawa, no,” Terushima said.

“Oikawa, yes!” Oikawa grinned at him, opening up the case, putting the DVD into the player, and turning on the TV.

Kuroo half-chuckled, half-sighed as the movie started. He loved shitty movies, but he couldn’t let Oikawa know that he loved any of _his_ shitty movies. Taking a sip of his beer, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and decided to text Bokuto.

 **Kuroo:** hey its kuroo. Session 2 weeks from now at 3pm?

Once he had clicked send, he put his phone away again and turned his attention back to the movie, trying not to anticipate Bokuto’s reply _too_ much.

 

* * *

 

Kuroo sat on the cold metal of a crate, staring up at the night sky, blackened by the city lights, and fought the urge to light up a cigarette. Smoking would mean taking off his bandanna, and he liked to have some form of anonymity out here – even if most of the Crows knew who he was by now. Hiding his face was just comforting to him, in a way. Kenma sat behind him, quietly watching his side of the wharf. Kuroo wouldn’t be surprised if he was playing on his phone again, though. Not that he minded. Kenma was observant enough that he would notice someone coming regardless.

As he sat, his mind drifted to Bokuto. Again. He wouldn’t be seeing him again for more than a week, but he was looking forward to it already. Sure, he had chatty clients every now and then – but none that he so genuinely _liked_ chatting to. He wanted to know more about Bokuto. And, even when he did know more, he wasn’t sure that would be enough.

But what _would_ be enough?

Before he could answer that question for himself, he felt a soft nudge. “Kuroo,” came Kenma’s voice from behind him, low and cautious. Kuroo looked back, following Kenma’s gaze to a spot down the wharf. There, he saw two figures approaching. One of them had beautiful, golden eyes. Kuroo cursed.

He hopped off of his perch and rounded the crate, moving to face the on-comers with his hands folded over his chest and his eyebrows knitted into a stern frown. Suppressing a sigh, he did his best to glare. This was sure to end well.

“What are you doing here?” Kuroo called once they were within earshot.

“We could ask the same of you,” said the guy with the golden eyes. Eye Guy? Kuroo really needed to come up with some sort of nickname for him. “Considering this is our turf.”

“Excuse me?” Kuroo scoffed, taking a step towards Pretty Eyes. It was the best he could think of, okay? Sue him.

“You heard me,” he said, stepping towards Kuroo as well, so that they were barely an inch apart. “Daichi said this was _our_ turf. So it is.”

“Well, buddy, sorry to tell you, but Daichi is wrong,” Kuroo said. His voice was low and dangerous, irritation bubbling within him along with… Something else. Want? Probably. There was just something to this guy that made him want to kiss him then and there – and he would, if he wasn’t currently thirsting after Bokuto. And, you know, the fact that one of them was probably going to start throwing punches soon.

Pretty Eyes raised an eyebrow, visibly irritated. “Wrong?” He repeated. “You’re the only one who’s wrong here. You and your little friend over there.”

“Your logic is shit,” Kuroo said. “Now get out of here before I decide to give you another beating.”

“Oho? I don’t remember you giving me a beating at all last time.”

“Well, then, I’d be happy to remind you,” Kuroo said, taking a swing at him. The guy’s eyes flashed, and Kuroo knew that there was another smile underneath that bandanna. He found himself wishing that he could see it. The thought of it sent a tingle down his spine. Vaguely, he could hear Shrimpy trying to egg on Kenma, but failing miserably. Kenma wasn’t one to get violent easily, and probably wouldn’t unless Shrimpy actually hit him first.

Pretty Eyes dodged, ducking low, and then came up at Kuroo with a punch of his own. Kuroo moved backwards, but not fast enough, and the guy’s fist made contact with Kuroo’s cheekbone. Kuroo hissed, but didn’t let himself hesitate. Kuroo moved in for another punch. When Pretty Eyes caught it, he brought his leg up, kneeing him in the stomach. The guy coughed, stumbling backwards, but also barely faltered, and came right back at Kuroo with blows of his own. They fought for what seemed like ages; they were evenly matched, something that happened often between the Cats and the Crows. But there was something about the way this guy fought, how he moved, that made Kuroo never want to stop. They only did when Shrimpy pulled Pretty Eyes away.

“Daichi wants us back,” he said, sounding worried. “He sounds impatient. We gotta go.”

Pretty Eyes frowned, looking decidedly unhappy. “Fine, let’s go,” he said, jogging off with Shrimpy.

“This isn’t over!” Kuroo called after him.

Pretty Eyes glanced back at him, eyes gleaming once again. “You bet your sweet ass it isn’t!”

Stupidly, all Kuroo could think of in that moment was: _He called my ass sweet_.

Behind him, Kenma let out a heavy sigh. “It’s getting late, we should go,” he said. “I don’t think they’ll be back.”

Kuroo nodded absently, and let out a quiet “uh-huh” as he stared after Pretty Eyes. When he didn’t move, Kenma sighed again and took his arm, pulling him away from the wharf. Kuroo tried really hard not to be enamoured by the Crows’ mysterious new member, he really did. But, it was pretty obvious, even to him, that he’d failed miserably.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I hope you guys enjoyed! Can you tell I love Oikawa? Anyway, stay tuned for the next chapter! Possibly coming soon?? We can only hope.
> 
> I should note that, while I'm trying to keep things accurate, I know next to nothing about tattooing lmao. All my information is from friends who've gotten tattoos themselves, and I'm even stretching things a bit there hahah. People usually wait about five weeks between sessions, I think.
> 
> Anyway feedback is more than appreciated, and I hope you enjoyed!! I love yelling about these assholes on tumblr c: bokutos-kuroo if you, too, love yelling about these assholes on tumblr.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kuroo thirsts after Bokuto and the Crows' new member when things start to go horribly wrong.

Kuroo sat on a stool at Kenma’s kitchen island, hugging his ribs and feeling just a touch sorry for himself. As much as he’d enjoyed trading blows with the masked stranger, being injured wasn’t exactly one of his favourite things. Still, he couldn’t help but smile at the memory of fighting him. It had been exhilarating to say the least. Kenma sighed from across him as he dabbed some antiseptic onto a cotton ball and then wiped the scrapes on Kuroo’s cheek. Kuroo hissed, jerking back a little.

Kenma clicked his tongue. “Stop moving, Kuro,” he said, pressing the cotton ball into his cheek again. Kuroo grimaced, grumbling. “You’re whiny for someone who has so many tattoos.”

“This is different,” Kuroo said.

Kenma gave him an unimpressed look. “Completely,” he deadpanned. “Why did you let things go so far, anyway? You’re usually more level-headed than this.”

Kuroo started to shrug, but stopped himself when Kenma glared at him for moving again. “I dunno,” he said. “That guy is just… Aggravating.” Kenma raised an eyebrow at Kuroo, just looking at him as he moved to disinfect the cuts on his knuckles. Kuroo tried to return his gaze, but failed, and cracked. “Okay, he’s really hot, okay?”

Kenma sighed again. “Kuro.”

“It’s not my fault he’s super attractive!” Kuroo shot back.

“You haven’t even seen his face,” Kenma pointed out.

“But his _eyes_ , Kenma,” he half-whined. “They’re so beautiful. Especially when he’s excited like when we’re fighting.” He sighed wistfully. “I wish I could see his smile. I bet it’s amazing.”

Kenma looked at him for a moment, frowning, as if he was trying to figure something out. “And your solution to finding him so attractive is to fight him every time you see him,” he finally said.

“What else am I supposed to do, Kenma? He’s a Crow! It’s not like I can ask him for coffee,” Kuroo said.

“Right. And why haven’t you asked Bokuto out for coffee yet?” Kenma asked.

Kuroo spluttered. “Because he’s a client! I can’t date him,” he said.

“There’s literally nothing that says you can’t date a client.”

“But what if it doesn’t go well?” Kuroo pointed out. “He could eat really grossly and it could annoy me and then it leads to a big fight and then I still have to do _at least_ another three sessions for him in awkward silence.”

Kenma rolled his eyes. “Okay, Kuro.”

“Hey, don’t judge me. How come you aren’t injured at all? You and Shrimpy didn’t even fight a _little_ did you?”

“No, I didn’t. Not all of us are as ready to fight as you are,” Kenma said, packing the antiseptic back into his first aid kit and getting up to throw the cotton balls away.

“Right, of course you aren’t. But Shrimpy is,” he said. Kenma stilled, and turned to narrow his eyes at Kuroo. “How did he know that Daichi wanted them back? I didn’t see him on his phone.” Kenma’s frown deepened, and Kuroo grinned. “I _bet_ that he made that up to get us to stop fighting to make a good impression on you. Because who wouldn’t appreciate someone saving their best friend from getting hurt? I think he _likes_ you, Kenma.”

Kenma’s eyebrow twitched, and he stayed quiet for a moment, his cheeks turning an adorable pink. “He doesn’t,” he said quietly.

Kuroo’s eyes widened, eyebrows raising and grin spreading. “Oh my god,” he laughed, delighted. It was like Christmas had come early. “Kenma, you have a _crush_ on him, don’t you? On Shrimpy?”

Kenma only turned pinker, all the way to the tips of his ears. “I don’t,” he mumbled, starting at the floor.

“You do!” Kuroo exclaimed. “You’re a terrible liar, Kenma. And you were ragging on me for finding Pretty Eyes attractive.”

“I don’t try to fight him to deal with my feelings,” Kenma said, a hint of indignation in his voice. “You just called him Pretty Eyes.”

“The first step to dealing with a problem is to admit you have one, Kenma,” Kuroo said, giving Kenma a serious look. Kenma just rolled his eyes.

“It’s late, you should go home,” Kenma told him.

“Fine,” Kuroo said. “But we’re finishing that shark movie next time I come over.”

Kenma sighed. “If you insist.”

“You know I do,” Kuroo said, winking, and then stood, making his way to the door. “Right, well I’ll get out of your hair. G’night, Kenma.”

“Goodnight, Kuro,” Kenma said. “Take care of yourself. You don’t want those scrapes to scar.”

Kuroo snorted. “And jeopardise my good looks? No way,” he said.

“Goodight, Kuro,” Kenma repeated, opening the door for him. Kuroo laughed and took the hint, waving Kenma goodbye as he left.

The walk up to his apartment was relatively short; the building didn’t have any elevators, but he was only two floors up. He trudged up the staircase, feeling sluggish but strangely satisfied. Weirdly enough, he’d enjoyed himself tonight. Normally, as confrontational as he could be from time to time, he thought of fights as a drag – necessary, but annoying. But this new guy… Simply put, he excited Kuroo.

As he reached his apartment, putting his keys into the lock, Kuroo’s phone buzzed. He entered, tossing his keys onto the counter, and wondered who would be texting him at this hour. It was long past midnight. He pulled out his phone as he made his way to his fridge to get a water bottle.

**Bokuto:** dude look at this cat I saw!!! He looks like you!!!!

[Bokuto sent an image]

It was a picture of a sleek, black cat, sitting and looking innocently up at the camera. It was missing an eye. Kuroo snorted as he closed his fridge again. He opened the water and took a sip, before going to his bedroom, shucking off his pants, and climbing into bed. He could shower in the morning. As he lay down, he began typing out a text to Bokuto.

**Kuroo:** im not literally a cat you know

Less than a minute later, he got another text.

**Bokuto:** arent you?????

[Bokuto sent an image]

It was a side-by-side of the cat and a picture of Kuroo; lord knows how he’d gotten it. Oikawa, maybe? Though he had no idea when he’d given him his number. But it wouldn’t surprise him – Oikawa always managed to do stuff like that, somehow.

**Kuroo:** yeah well youre an owl

**Bokuto:** thats a compliment, bro

**Bokuto:** hoot hoot

**Kuroo:** are you serious right now. Youre such a dork

**Bokuto:** youre a bigger dork

**Bokuto:** I bet youve said nya before

**Kuroo:** have not!! Im going to bed. Goodnight bo.

**Bokuto:** I will not rest until I get you to say nya

Kuroo let out a soft laugh, and couldn’t help but grin at Bokuto’s messages. He felt a soft tug at the back of his mind, like he was missing something important, but decided to ignore it. Instead, put his phone on charge, setting it down, and then rolled over to go to sleep.

 

* * *

 

It was a week and a half later when Kuroo saw Bokuto again.

Kuroo sat behind the counter of the shop, engrossed in the book he was reading. Or rather, he would be engrossed if he didn’t have the distinct feeling that someone was watching him. He did his best to ignore it, to concentrate on the words on the page in front of him, but the feeling only grew stronger. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, and eventually he had to close his book with a snap. He looked up to find Oikawa sitting in the other chair, staring at him with a huge grin on his face.

“What the _fuck_ do you want, Oikawa?” He demanded, sighing sharply and glaring at Oikawa.

Oikawa just grinned wider, raising his eyebrows. “It’s Bokuto’s second session today,” he said, voice high and excited and oh god Oikawa was in one of _those_ moods today.

Kuroo tried his best to act nonchalant, and rolled his eyes. “Yes, it is. So?”

“So,” Oikawa said, dragging out the ‘o’. “You’re excited, I can tell.”

“Am not,” Kuroo said.

Oikawa blinked all-too innocently. “Oh? So you’re _not_ excited to see Bokuto again? I bet that new member of the Crows’ has stolen you heart away from our lovable new client,” he said. “Now you don’t want to see Bokuto at all anymore.”

Kuroo spluttered, heat rising in his cheeks. “That’s not true!” He said, trying to glare harder at Oikawa, but failing. “He’s just attractive, is all.”

Oikawa raised his eyebrows. “Bokuto? Or the Crows’ mysterious new member?”

“Both? I don’t know! They’re both super attractive!”

Oikawa laughed – or cackled, really – and gave Kuroo’s shoulder an endearing pat. “You’re blushing, Tetsu-chan! It’s so cute!”

If Kuroo was embarrassed before, he was mortified when Bokuto walked through the door, soft bell signalling his arrival. “Fuck,” he whispered.

“It is pretty cute,” Bokuto said, chuckling softly. Kuroo just blushed harder. “But why _are_ you blushing?”

“Nope, no, not having this conversation right now,” Kuroo said, grabbing his stuff and making his way into the other room.

“Aw, man! But I wanna know!” Bokuto called after him, laughing. Kuroo just _knew_ that Oikawa was giving Bokuto that suggestive grin of his.

“Just get in here and take your shirt off!” Kuroo yelled, and then realized how his words sounded, and only blushed even more.

Bokuto’s laughter trailed into the room as he entered, responding to something Oikawa had said. Even though he knew that it was at his expense, Kuroo found himself wishing that he could listen to the sound for the rest of the day. He pointedly concentrated on his prep work, forcing himself not to take a look as Bokuto stripped out of his shirt. Once Bokuto was laying down, he turned back to him, and swabbed down his back with antiseptic again.

While he finished his prep, he took a moment to inspect the tattoo’s progress, and smiled at his work. “It’s healing well,” he noted, nodding to himself.

“Yeah, dude! I looked at it in the mirror before I came here,” Bokuto said. “I absolutely love it!”

Kuroo’s smile only widened. “I’m glad,” he said. “You ready to get started?”

Bokuto nodded, grinning up at Kuroo, and oh boy did Kuroo love that smile. “Hell yeah, let’s go!”

Nodding, Kuroo switched on his machine and got to work, tracing along the lines of the stencil. “You have to let me take a photo of this when it’s done,” he said; he was happy with how the tattoo was going. And that wasn’t just because it gave him an excuse to touch Bokuto’s back as much as he wanted.

“Of course, man! As long as you send me the picture, as well,” he said.

“Sure thing.”

“So what _were_ you blushing about?” Bokuto asked.

Kuroo frowned at him, but his smile hadn’t disappeared. “You sure are insistent.”

“What can I say? I’m curious!”

Kuroo chuckled, shaking his head a little. “Oikawa’s just a jackass that gets off on teasing people,” he said, hoping it wasn’t too painfully obvious that he was avoiding the question. “I plan to get him back, though.”

“Oho? And how are you gonna do that?” Bokuto asked, looking all too excited at the prospect of revenge.

Kuroo hummed. “I’m not too sure yet,” he said. “Usually I just give him extra shit about Iwaizumi. He’s totally in love with him, as much as he tries to play it cool.”

“You should put hair dye in his shampoo,” Bokuto said, and his voice was so serious that Kuroo could only blink at him for a moment. Then, he burst out laughing, containing himself only just enough to keep his hand steady. Bokuto grinned at him again, eyes lighting up. “Your laugh is so dumb.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Kuroo snorted. “You shouldn’t insult someone when they’re holding a tattoo needle to your back.”

“It wasn’t an insult,” Bokuto laughed, like it was obvious. “I like it.”

“Oh,” was all that Kuroo could say for a good moment. He was a little taken aback by Bokuto’s straightforwardness; it wasn’t something that he had been expecting. Not to this degree, at least. Just because he complimented his laugh, though, didn’t necessarily mean anything. If it was even a compliment. “Thank you.”

Terushima chose that exact moment to stick his head into the room and stage-whisper, “Gay.”

Kuroo rolled his eyes, trying to shrug it off, but felt the tell-tale prickles of heat in his cheeks again. “Fuck off, Terushima. No one asked you,” he yelled. Bokuto just laughed.

Once again, four hours went by all-too quickly. Once again, it felt like they had started not two minutes ago when Kuroo looked up and saw that it was dark outside. Kuroo felt the same tug of melancholy as last time at having to end their session, but any more would be bad for Bokuto – and Kuroo’s ability to concentrate. So, he set the machine down, and let out a heavy sigh.

“Well, that’s it for the day,” Kuroo said, stretching out his back. “When do you want your next session? Two weeks again?”

Bokuto sat up, nodding furiously. “Yes, please!”

Kuroo chuckled as he got out the cling wrap and began wrapping Bokuto up again. “You have a high tolerance for pain, dude,” he said.

“You have a ton of tattoos, too,” he pointed out, gesturing at Kuroo’s sleeve. “Your pain tolerance can’t be too bad, either.”

“You’d be surprised,” Kuroo said. “I had to wait ages between sessions. But I couldn’t exactly be a tattoo artist with no tattoos.”

“That’s true, I guess, as dumb as it is,” Bokuto said, laughing.

“Well, you- You’re dumb!”

Bokuto laughed again. “Amazing comeback, my guy.”

“Whatever, just text me later, okay?” He said, and then quickly, and a little awkwardly, added, “With when you want your next session to be, I mean.”

Bokuto gave him a look, and opened his mouth to say something, when Oikawa burst into the room, eyes wild and worried. “Tetsu-chan, we need to go right now,” he said, sounding harried. “Sorry, to cut things short, Kou-chan, but it’s an emergency.”

Kuroo frowned as he finished up Bokuto’s wrapping. “Hold on a second, Oikawa. What’s wrong?” He asked.

“It’s Yamamoto,” Oikawa said, taking a deep breath. “I just got a text from Iwa-chan. He’s in the hospital, and he’s in bad shape. We need to get over there now.”

Kuroo’s mouth dropped open, and for a moment he couldn’t find the words to speak. “Shit,” he breathed eventually. “Shit, what happened?”

Oikawa pursed his lips for a moment, glancing at Bokuto. “Iwa-chan said he’d tell us when we got there.”

_Shit_. It must be really bad, if Oikawa didn’t want to talk about it here. He looked back at Bokuto, who had already shrugged his shirt back on. “Hey, Bo, sorry but I’m gonna have to kick you out now,” he said. “You can pay next time.”

Bokuto nodded, eyebrows creasing into a worried frown. “Sure, man, that’s fine,” he said, hopping off the tattoo bed. “Just let me know if you need anything, okay?”

Kuroo smiled softly despite himself. “Yeah, okay. Thanks, Bo.”

Bokuto smiled back at him, and gave Kuroo’s shoulder a soft pat and a squeeze, before leaving. Kuroo watched after him for a moment, before moving into action, ignoring Oikawa’s raised eyebrow. He decided that he could clean up all his shit later; getting to the hospital came first. Quickly, he flipped their sign from ‘open’ to ‘closed’ before flipping all the lights and grabbing his jacket and cell phone.

“Come on, guys, let’s go,” he called from the front door once he was done prepping to close. “We can take my car.”

“That death trap?” Terushima groaned. “ _We’ll_ be the next ones to end up in hospital.”

“You got any better ideas?” Kuroo asked, raising his eyebrows. “I don’t see you offering your bike.”

“We’d never fit!”

“Exactly,” Kuroo said, opening the door and holding it for them. “Now let’s _go_.”

Terushima, Oikawa, and Kenma all filed out of the shop, grumbling about the road-worthiness of Kuroo’s car. Kuroo just sighed as he stepped outside as well, closing the door behind them and locking it. The walk to Kuroo’s car was short; he’d parked it just around the corner from the shop. They all clambered in, with Kenma up front, and Oikawa and Terushima squeezing into the back. Once they were all in and buckled up, Kuroo turned on his car and pulled away, speeding down the street.

“Which hospital is it, Oikawa?” Kuroo asked as he pulled onto the main road.

“One of the ones downtown,” Oikawa said. “I can’t remember what it’s called exactly, but I can direct you.”

Kuroo nodded, and continued driving. The car ride was quiet, tense, the silence only broken by Oikawa’s terse directions. It took them maybe twenty minutes to get to the hospital, but it felt closer to two hours, worry tugging at Kuroo’s gut. When they arrived, Kuroo pulled into the closest parking spot to the entrance that he could find, and they all but scrambled out of the car and into the building.

Iwaizumi met them in the foyer, hands shoved in the pockets of his hoodie and face scrunched up into a deep frown. One side of his face was bruised badly, and he was visibly in pain.

“Oh my god, Iwa-chan!” Oikawa cried when he saw Iwaizumi, rushing up to him and lightly touching his face. “Are you okay? What happened? You didn’t tell me you were hurt, too!”

Iwaizumi winced as Oikawa’s fingers brushed a scrape on his cheekbone. “I’m fine, Oikawa. You don’t need to worry about me,” he said, covering Oikawa’s hand with his own, and then facing the rest of them. “Yamamoto’s stable, but he hasn’t woken up yet. Come on, I’ll tell you what happened on the way up to his room.”

Kuroo nodded and started after Iwaizumi as he led them towards Yamamoto’s room. He didn’t miss the way Oikawa and Iwaizumi hooked their pinkies together, but he figured that he could wait till later to make fun of them for being mushy.

“We got jumped,” Iwaizumi said, once they were in one of the emptier hallways. “We were leaving the gym when it happened. I don’t know who it was. I couldn’t see their face.”

Kuroo pursed his lips, taking a deep, steadying breath as anger flooded through him. “The Crows?” He asked quietly, not trusting his voice.

“Maybe,” Iwaizumi said. “I can’t think of who else would want to hurt us. Or that could. But the guy was crazy. The only reason I got off so lightly was because Yamamoto got in between us.”

“Shit,” Kuroo breathed. The rest nodded in silent agreement.

They were quiet the rest of the way to Yamamoto’s room, wordlessly filing in to stand at his bedside. For a good few minutes, the only sound in the room was their tense breathing as they watched over Yamamoto’s sleeping form. His face was covered in ugly bruises, and one of his eyes was swelled shut. There were bandages wrapped around his head and one of his arms, and Kuroo guessed that there were probably more elsewhere.

Eventually, Kenma broke the silence, voicing what they had all been thinking. “What are we going to do?” He asked, and Kuroo didn’t have a clean answer for that. All he knew was that he was angry. Angry at whoever had done this. Angry at the Crows – because who else could this have been? _He_ was still in jail. Kuroo took another breath.

“We find a way to get them back.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys had lovely holidays! I promise actual interactions between Kuroo and Bokuto will become less sparse lmao.


End file.
